Experiences of Pethidine

I ended up with pethidine and found it great - it sent me to sleep for two hours. My contractions continued, I eventually dilated enough and all through it ds was trying to headbang his way out. I woke up to be told I could start pushing. Ds arrived very alert and wide awake. No problems with feeding him either afterwards. I have heard of it not agreeing with people. It was only afterwards my aunt told me it runs in the family that pethidine sends us to sleep. I had no effects when I woke up either and was wide awake through the rest of my labour.

I disliked pethidine because it made me feel out of control, which I hated. It didn't affect my babies because they were born so quickly after I had the jag. I just had G&A for my last baby and that suited me better.

I had pethidine after an appendix op, and it was v good for that, but then I didn't have to give birth, I could just lie there and sleep, lol! Best wishes for the imminent arrival, Sam.

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oops....all i am saying is i will never give birth without both gas and air plus pethidine working together because i end up feeling joyfully high.

I had Pethidine with my first baby and quite liked it, but it did make me talk rubbish an dream a lot. However, I delivered 2 hours after I had it. Second time round i just had gas and air and found that it was just as effective as Pethidine but didn't make me so 'stupid'. The intensity of second stage was the same with and without pethidine. If you do not have long to go when you ask for it ( and everybody does), I would carry on with gas and air.However, if you feel you realy need something, have it. If you get too distressed you will slow your progress. The main thing is to believe in yourself and take guidance from your midwife. If you are distraught on gas and air at 2cm, you need some assistance regarding pain relief - it is not an admission of failure.

I tried everything during my very long labour...TENS, pethidine, gas and air, birthing pool and finally epidural. IME, pethidine was the only thing which didn't work! It made me so sleepy I was confined to my bed (in a doze) but it didn't get rid of the pain - so I kept waking up mid-contraction (not nice!). However, it does work for lots of people. I was dead against using pethidine because of its effect on the baby, but was persuaded to give it a try by MW who said that birth was a long way off (and she was right, so her advice was sensible, it's just it didn't work as a painkiller for me). I can't comment on its effect on the baby as ds was born so long after I had the pethidine it should have been well out of his system by then.

I didn't have pethidine when I had ds - but I've had it loads after operations. Have to say I love it... (not that I'm an addict or anything)... IME it got rid of any pain and left me feeling lovely and warm and sleepy, incapable of holding a sensible conversation and blissfully unaware of what was going on. Hence the fact that I once asked my mother to "get the dog out of here, she's going to knock the flowers over". Having said that, that was one of the reasons why I didn't go for it during labour as I figured I would talk enough xxxx without it. Don't know if they would give you the same dose though!

I would have loved a water birth with dd1 but couldn't due to the fact that i am a very warm person (no not like that ladies) and am quite prone to fainting fits when I get too hot, the minimum temperature they have birthing pools at is too hot for me, my baths are tepid, too cold for dd1 & dd2 even, also another mark agains my having a water birth was the fact that my blood pressure was sky high.

Good luck

I had pethidine with my second baby, not planned but needed something more than gas and air, however dont think it made all that much difference and just really used the booster on the gas and air. Baby born with no spleepy effects, one of my worries, and she fed straight away. Good luck with water birth, spent most of my first labour in the water and it was brilliant.

I had pethidine with dd2 but I don't really think it had time to work as she was born less than 5 minutes later, I think only draw back with it is that it 20 minutes to work. I had dd2 with just the help of gas and air and found it fab. From personal experience I would recommend as natural as possible, I had an epidural 1st time and nothing second and if i were to have another it would most definately be natural all the way.

Good look upon your new arrival and keep us all posted.